Karandaaz’s investment policy has double bottom line objectives in terms of development impact and financial sustainability.
BF Biosciences Limited (BFB) is Pakistan’s first biopharmaceutical production facility, designed according to international standards. Karandaaz has provided BFB growth capital which will facilitate the company in the production and distribution of Remdesivir, and also result in the expansion of the facility to increase fill-and-finish capacity for vaccines to help combat COVID-19 in Pakistan. The investment will establish BFB as a leading pharma player in the country and is expected to increase job opportunities at BFB and in its supply chain.
Renacon Pharma Ltd (RPL) is a leading producer of Hemodialysis Concentrates (HDC) products in Pakistan. With the financing from Karandaaz, RPL aims to increase its capacity by setting up a new production facility in Faisalabad for the manufacturing of hemodialysis concentrates. Karandaaz’s investment help RPL scale up its operations, expand its footprint in the export market, and create various employment opportunities.
AL HAJ FAW is part of AL HAJ Group of Companies, with a diversified industrial presence. The company is engaged in assembly and after-sale service of Light and Heavy Commercial Vehicles and passenger cars since 2012. The financing from Karandaaz for FAW is being utilized for onward financing of Light and Heavy Commercial Vehicles to the small truckers who would otherwise have limited or no access to financing from the formal sources due to stringent collateral-based lending models. It is estimated that approximately 265 direct and indirect jobs have been supported as a result of this intervention from Karandaaz.
Karandaaz has provided support to Excel Labs to help combat the outbreak of COVID-19. The financial assistance is in the form of an interest-free loan to establish a state-of-the-art COVID-19 testing facility based on World Health Organization standards. The assistance also includes a grant for free and discounted tests for deserving patients, confirming Karandaaz’s commitment to providing socially responsible growth capital and create additionality.
Karandaaz has made an investment for 27 percent equity stakes in Wahdat Poultry Farms, based in Sargodha. Established in 2007, Wahdat Farm is a pioneer in introducing Pakistan to branded healthy eggs through automated technology with a daily production capacity of over 200,000 eggs. Karandaaz’s investment will be used as growth capital by Wahdat Farms to increase the number of sheds. As a result, the egg production and bird rearing capacity of Wahdat Farm will increase considerably. The per capita annual consumption of eggs in Pakistan is only 90 versus a global average of 300 leaving a significant nutrition gap. With a rising middle class, the per capita consumption of eggs especially the branded and healthier eggs is expected to grow at a fast pace.
Karandaaz’s equity investment in Secure Logistics (Pvt) Ltd (SLG) with added co-investment from an international investor, Saudi Bugshan Group (Bugshan Group), totals to PKR 1.2 billion. The investment, in addition to enabling SLG to expand its existing long-haul fleet, will also help it in expanding into additional segments of short-haul distribution and warehousing – thus becoming a leading domestic 3 PL player offering “one-window solutions” to clients supported by an in-house vehicle and asset tracking capability. The investment is expected to create more than 600 direct and indirect additional jobs in the logistics sector of the country.
Karandaaz Pakistan has invested in National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) Agriculture Processing Company Limited (APCL) as an agriculture value chain proposition for small-holding rice farmers. NRSP APCL aims to scale up opportunities for warehousing, financial inclusion, and the incidence of rural industrialization for farmers without compromising the principles of scalability, food security, profitability, and sustainability. Additionally, Karandaaz investment in APC is expected to demonstrate value chain services including warehousing at scale for the first time in the country.
HAC Agri Controlled Atmosphere Warehouse ensure availability of off-season fruits and vegetables with same freshness and quality as that in in-season. Karandaaz Pakistan invested in HAC Agri to setup the first state-of-the-art Controlled Atmosphere Warehouse in Punjab. Such investments, in high growth businesses boost job creation and economic growth in the country.
Excel Labs, one of the largest laboratory and diagnostic services providers in Pakistan, has presences at more than 60 locations across Punjab, Khyber Paktunkhwa and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The labs offer a total of 727 tests. Karandaaz’s investment will be used by Excel Labs for expansion of its current operations and additions of new, high margin business lines.
Techlogix is a leading IT services and enterprise solutions company with operations based out of Pakistan. Techlogix has developed innovative and cost-effective software-as-a-service enterprise solutions for the higher education, microfinance, and large-scale distribution sectors. Investment from Karandaaz is helping Techlogix further develop and market its solutions locally and internationally and generate employment opportunities in Pakistan.
